Your role as VP Sales Europe

As VP Sales Europe, you are responsible for building and strengthening the commercial foundation of Shapeways, with a clear focus on the European market. You define the sales strategy for Europe, translate it into clear priorities and processes, and ensure predictable and scalable execution across the organization. You report directly to the CEO and work closely with marketing, operations and production to align commercial ambition with manufacturing reality.

This role is about creating focus and structure in an environment where sales has historically been opportunistic and largely inbound. You take full ownership of the end-to-end sales funnel, professionalizing pipeline management, forecasting and reporting to enable fact-based decision-making and transparency across the organization. At the same time, you safeguard flexibility, ensuring the organization remains responsive to innovative customers and fast-moving development cycles.

You lead, coach and further build the sales team, which consists of technically strong profiles with varying levels of sales experience. Developing people is a core part of your mandate. You are also responsible for selectively expanding the team where needed, bringing in additional capabilities that support the next phase of growth. You introduce clear expectations, measurable performance standards and accountability, while preserving technical credibility and customer trust. 

Together with the Head of Marketing you establish a fully integrated commercial funnel. You ensure that leads are actively followed up, opportunities are properly qualified and customer relationships are deliberately deepened beyond individual transactions. Key accounts are developed in a structured and scalable way, with sales and marketing operating as equal partners, jointly responsible for growth, positioning and customer engagement. 

You maintain senior-level relationships with strategic customers and partners across Europe and support complex deal-making. You work closely with operations and supply chain to ensure feasibility, delivery reliability and alignment between sales forecasts and manufacturing capacity. Travel within Europe takes place approximately one or two times per quarter and occasional interaction with customers or stakeholders in the United States is part of the role. 

Beyond sales performance, you contribute to the broader professionalization of the organization. You bring urgency, challenge assumptions where needed and translate commercial ambition into concrete execution, helping to embed a culture of accountability, ownership and continuous improvement. 

Your profile

You are an experienced commercial leader who brings structure, clarity and focus to complex environments. You combine strategic thinking with a hands-on mindset and feel comfortable taking ownership in an organization that is still evolving. You do not wait for direction, but actively shape how sales operates, how decisions are made and how performance is measured. 

You have a solid understanding of B2B sales in a technical and manufacturing-driven context, with a demonstrated track record of success in these environments. You do not need to be an engineer, but you are able to engage with technically strong teams and customers, ask the right questions and translate complexity into clear commercial choices. You understand the European industrial and manufacturing landscape and how buying behavior, decision-making and go-to-market dynamics differ across regions. You are familiar with short development cycles, low-volume production and the dynamics of innovative hardware markets. 

You are data-driven and process-oriented, not as an end in itself, but as a means to create transparency, predictability and better decision-making. You are comfortable working with targets, pipelines and forecasts, and take a hands-on approach to pipeline management and sales analytics. You know how to use data to coach teams, address underperformance and improve outcomes. You are clear and direct, and you do not shy away from difficult conversations when they are needed. 

As a leader, you are coach-oriented and demanding at the same time. You bring strong leadership, negotiation and interpersonal skills, and are able to operate effectively at different levels within the organization and with external stakeholders. You invest in developing people, setting clear expectations and building accountability, while maintaining trust and credibility with your team, customers and the broader management within Shapeways. You are able to work with different personalities and experience levels, and you know how to grow a team in a thoughtful and selective way. 

You communicate clearly and convincingly, are fluent in English and feel at ease in an international environment. You are able to prioritize effectively, manage multiple initiatives in parallel and perform in a fast-paced, goal-oriented environment without losing focus. You bring energy, urgency and perspective, and you are motivated by building something that works, rather than maintaining what already exists. 

In addition, you recognize yourself in the following:  

• Academic level of thinking and working, with a completed bachelor’s degree, preferably in a technical discipline.
• 7-10 years of B2B sales experience.
• Experience in a senior leadership role.
• Experience in a technical or manufacturing environment.
• Fluent in English. Dutch or other European languages are a plus.

What does Shapeways offer you?

Shapeways offers a senior leadership role with ownership and direct impact in a fast-moving, international manufacturing environment. You will have the opportunity to shape the commercial organization, work closely with the leadership team and contribute to the company’s next phase of growth, including participation in the stock option plan.

The employment package includes:

• Competitive salary with bonus component.
• Company car or mobility allowance.
• Pension plan with company contribution.
• 25 vacation days per year plus at least 3 additional national holidays.
• Stock option plan.